Listen to the Wind
by lostmoonchild
Summary: The Elric brothers are given an assignment to look for the daughter of a former military officer. When they find her, she's less than willing to help. So how are they going to get her to help and why is she against the military?
1. Prologue

lost moonchild: I'm only writing this because somebody challenged me to write a Full Metal Alchemist fan fiction. So to get this story started, I don't own Full Metal Alchemist. I only own the characters who aren't part of Full Metal Alchemist so don't sue!

PROLOGUE

---UNKNOWN POV---

"_BROTHER!"  
_I woke up with a start and looked around wildly, calming down slightly when I saw my favorite sister sound asleep on the couch. Her hand constructed purely out of automail rested on her stomach which was also constructed partially of automail. I could see dried tear stains on her face, the only traces of the pain she had gone through just hours ago when I put the automail over her burns. "Automail freak.." My sister murmured shifting slightly.

"Alchemy slut." I answered with a smile knowing she'd stay quiet.

That was our personal codes for telling if one of us was nearby. She'd call me an automail freak and I'd call her an alchemy slut in response. Mother and father used to laugh at our codes, both saying that we had such a pleasant way of talking to each other and how they'd feel sorry for the other when we got married.

Mother and father…

Both were dead, mother dying six months after father's mysterious disappearance from the military. "Missing in action," the military's letter had said without explaining what he had been doing. That one letter nearly sent mother into complete insanity, but she stuck around for six months before wasting away completely after giving birth to one more child.

So for the past six and a half months sister has made sure that everybody was taken care of. She even went into a burning house to save one of our little brothers and sisters which resulted in her hand being burned bad enough that it had to be amputated and her stomach practically being burned open. Our five year old sister escaped without her foot which was made of automail but that was being remade right now. Our five year old brother, our footless sister's twin, made it out with minor burns that wouldn't leave any scars later on.

"Alchemy bastards…" Sister murmured shivering a little. "Bastards of the military…"

I glanced at my sleeping sister knowing enough not to wake her up and ask. She wouldn't remember saying anything and would start shouting at me about how I could jinx the family. So I kept my mouth shut and finished working on our little sister's foot before closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep not caring much about what my sister was whispering.

---END POV---

lostmoonchild: Okay, how many people are actually going, "What the hell?" or "Is this chick crazy? Where's Ed and Al?" or "I'm not reading this stupid story because Ed and Al aren't in it."? Don't worry, Ed and Al will come in the next chapter. So read and review, flames will be used to torture somebody...


	2. Chapter 1

**lostmoonchild: Thank you to everybody who was kind enough to leave a review for the prologue! Here's chapter one finally. I don't own FMA or any of the songs that may be mentioned in this story unless I say otherwise. The characters who aren't part of FMA are mine so don't sue.**

CHAPTER ONE

A year later…

"Brother, where are we going?" Alphonse Elric asked sounding confused.

"Some village. We're supposed to find some alchemist girl." Edward Elric answered looking unhappy. "Apparently her father was part of the military but he vanished without a trace. The military thinks that he might have told his daughter something important about what he was doing."  
Alphonse looked ahead and saw a little girl with huge eyes drawing in the dirt. "Hi!" Al shouted waving towards the girl.

The girl stopped drawing and looked at them before running towards the village. "You scared her." Ed laughed before a rock hit his head. "HEY! WHO THREW THAT!"

A boy around twelve came out of hiding and frowned at them. "Military dogs aren't allowed." The boy said frowning.

"Who are you calling "military dogs", kid?" Ed shouted at the boy.

"You two, obviously. My sister hates military dogs and eats alchemy bastards for breakfast."

"You wouldn't happen to know a girl named, Rose, would you?" Ed demanded looking at the boy.

"You wouldn't happen to be from the military, would you?" The boy shot back.

"Your mother hasn't taught you any manners, has she?"

The boy frowned and said, "My mother's dead. The military killed her!"

Ed remembered hearing something from Mustang about Rose and her brothers and sisters all convinced the military killed their parents. "Look, kid, the military doesn't kill people's parents."

"That's what the military claims but we know better." A calm voice said.

Ed's eyes widened in shock as he saw a girl with long light brown hair and gray eyes show up suddenly. "They're military dogs, sister." The boy said.

"Go back to the house and tell brother dearest that I'm taking care of a couple military pests so I might be late for dinner." The girl said.

The boy nodded and stuck his tongue out at the Elric brothers before running off towards the town. "You're Rose?" Ed asked calmly.

The girl smirked and said, "I try not to make it a habit to introduce myself to those who I'm about to send back to the military in a coffin but I'll make an exception seeing as you've obviously got a little brother and I respect those who are brave enough to throw their brother into a suit of armor."  
"YOU SHUT UP! ARE YOU ROSE OR NOT!" Ed shouted starting to get frustrated.

"Yeah, I'm Rose. You must be Edward Elric and that your brother, Alphonse. Am I correct?"

"How do you know our names?" Al asked sounding nervous.

The wind lightly blew and Rose smiled. "A dear friend of mine." Rose said simply. "I'm sure Edward knows how I know, Mustang probably told him." Rose said with a smile. "Listen to me, and listen to me good, you two aren't welcome here so I suggest you turn your metal asses around one hundred and eighty degrees and go back to where you came from or else I'm going to have to make you two leave."

"And if we don't leave?" Ed demanded. "How are you going to make us leave?"

Rose smirked and said, "Does transfusion sound like a good enough reason? I can pick you two apart without trying."

"YOU WOULDN'T DARE! IF I WRECK THIS ARM THERE'S A GIRL THAT'S GOING TO WRING MY NECK!" Ed shouted at the teenage girl.

Rose smiled innocently and walked up to Ed, swaying her hips a little bit as she walked. "And you're more afraid of this girl than you are me? Someday I might have to meet this girl, Edward Elric." Rose said innocently before kicking Ed in the chest hard enough to send him flying back into a tree and ended up getting her stomach automail turned to pieces of metal in the process. "Now both of you listen up, if I catch you anywhere near this village, I'm hunting you down myself and I will slaughter the both of you. Ask Mustang, he knows I ALWAYS go through with my threats."

Al rushed over to his brother and helped Ed up once Rose had left. "Damn. I think she almost broke a couple ribs." Ed muttered.

"What are we going to do, brother?" Al asked.

Ed grinned a little and said looking serious all of a sudden, "We're going to go get her."

**lostmoonchild: There's chapter one! Arigato again to everybody who was kind enough to leave behind a review! Please read and review, flames will be accepted.**


	3. Chapter 2

**lostmoonchild: sorry it took so long to update, life has been literal hell lately. So, here's chapter two, enjoy! Oh yeah, I don't own FMA or any of the songs that may appear. I only own the characters who aren't part of FMA and a few songs so don't sue!**

Chapter Two

"How could you have gotten my best work destroyed!" A boy with short light brown hair shouted at his sister.

"Is it my fault? It broke so easily when that alchemist bastard used alchemy on it." Rose answered lazily as she leaned back on the couch.

"Ew, there's hole in her stomach." A nine year old boy said putting a finger in his sister's stomach.

"Yeah, keep poking at my hole and I'll put a hole in your stomach." Rose threatened lightly as a baby started crying. "Somebody hand me Alex."

"Oh, no you don't." The boy with light brown hair said quickly. "I've got to reattach your new stomach to your body."

"You lot get out." Rose said glancing at her ten younger brothers and sisters.

The children knew better than to disobey their sister and left the living room, quietly heading up the stairs to their rooms. "ready?" The boy asked.

"Just do it already, Ross." Rose said relaxing her body as her new stomach was placed over the hole. "This is sad. This is the only thing keeping me alive basically."

"Yeah, yeah. One, two… THREE!"  
Rose screamed in pain and bit down as hard as she could on a leather strap that had teeth marks all over from each one of the children biting down on it some point in their life. Whimpers of pain escaped her lips as she felt her body jump slightly from having the automail being connected to her nerves. "Deep breaths, sister dear, deep breaths." Ross whispered gently brushing his sister's hair to the side.

After five minutes Ross carefully took the leather strap out of his sister's mouth and gave her some water. "They're searching for the Philosopher's Stone." Rose murmured quietly. "They think father might have known where it was hidden."  
"Father didn't know. Only had suspicions." Ross whispered when he heard somebody knock on the door. "I'll be right back."

Rose watched as her brother answered the door and nearly fell off the couch when she saw Ed and Al standing at the door. "YOU!" Ed and Rose shouted at the same time.

"DON'T YOU TWO KNOW ENOUGH NOT TO FOLLOW A GIRL AROUND! DAMN!" Rose shouted ignoring the fact that her body was still in pain.

"You stay on that couch." Ross ordered before glaring at the Elric brothers. "Which one of you destroyed my sister's stomach?"

"THIS AIN'T MY FUCKING STOMACH!" Rose shouted angrily at her brother.

'You shut up." Ross commanded before staring at the Elric brothers again. "Which one?"

"I did. But only because she kicked my chest."  
"She gave you a warning that you aren't welcome." Ross said calmly. "You're simply pushing your luck."  
"Listen, we were told to bring you two back to Central with us." Ed said calmly. "Now are you two going to come peacefully?"

"YOU'RE NOT TAKING OUR BROTHER AND SISTER ANYWHERE!" Some small children shouted running down the stairs.

Rose smiled and said, "Meet our little army, alchemist bastards. Hell of a lot worse than the military when pissed."

Ed stared in shock at how many kids there were and quickly counted twelve including Ross and Rose. "Holy shit." Ed remarked looking amazed.

"One of you punks help me up." Rose said leaning on a couple kids. "Edward Elric, as you can clearly see there are twelve of us kids. Each of us has been orphaned by the military."

"Listen, if you come with us we can talk the military into giving you all money to help support…"

"One of you kids bring me my gun." Rose said calmly.

Ed looked shocked at Rose and shouted, "I'M TRYING TO GIVE YOU A WAY TO SUPPORT YOURSELVES AND THOSE KIDS AND YOU'RE THREATENING TO SHOOT ME!"

"Mr. Elric, there's nothing the military can do to make us forget having to bury our mother and not having our father's body to bury. The money that you're offering us, is nothing more than blood money." Rose said calmly. "Don't think for a minute I don't know what the military is planning, even if you don't realize it yet."  
"What exactly is the military planning?" Al asked sounding confused.

Rose shook her head and answered, "If I were you, Edward, I'd take your brother and run as fast as you can before they kill you as well."

"What are they planning?" Al asked again.

"To murder everybody who stands against the military. They don't care if the person works for the military, everybody's fate is sealed." Rose answered. "My brothers and sisters and I have lived peaceful lives here just like our mother and father have but now, that life is nothing more than history thanks to you. Now get out of my house."

"But.."  
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

Ed frowned slightly and said, "You know, you should get your priorities in order. What's more important to you? Hating the military just because your parents died, or taking care of your brothers and sisters?"

"Don't you dare accuse me of not knowing what's more important, Elric, when you have the same question shoving itself in your face." Rose said coldly. "Now get out of my house before I let Samara and Sam at your metallic asses."

The Elric brothers left and Ross gave his sister a "we have got to talk" look. "Are they going to take us away and throw us in jail?" A small boy around five asked looking scared.

"No. They won't throw little kids in jail." Rose said lying on the couch again and closing her eyes.

"But what if they do?"

"Then they'll have condemned themselves to Hell because I'm going to be the next Devil."

The children giggled a little bit, each knowing their sister would throw whoever hurt any of them right into Hell all by herself. They knew perfectly well that whatever their eldest brother or sister said, was pretty much the law for the small group. They had never been beaten before, but given extra chores if they did something wrong. When they were good, they were given less chores but when they were all good, they kept the same amount of chores and were given a bit more dessert after dinner.

"Okay, kids, bedtime." Ross said with a smile. "Get ready for bed."

The kids all moaned and tried to be allowed to stay up later but Rose shook her head and lovingly kissed them all on the head almost as if a mother would. "Sister, are we going to have to leave?" A small girl holding onto a stuffed bear that was made out of different colored materials asked looking afraid.

"I don't know yet. Brother dear and I will talk about it and we'll decide what we're going to do about the alchemy bastards." Rose answered gently. "Now get ready for bed and I'll be up soon to tuck you and teddy into bed, how's that sound?"

The small girl nodded and ran up the stairs, following her older brothers and sisters. "We are seriously going to have to talk." Ross said starting to head upstairs. "And you'd better not run off or else I'm going to let those military dogs have a "talk" with you."

Rose looked amused and muttered something under her breath, waiting a few minutes before heading upstairs to make sure everybody was comfortable. Within half an hour, she and Ross were trying to figure out what their plan of action would be until they could figure out what was going to happen to their remaining family.

**lostmoonchild: and there's chapter two! Read and review, flames accepted!**


	4. Chapter 3

lostmoonchild: Thanks everybody for reviewing so far! Here's chapter three since I want to get this posted ASAP. I don't own FMA or any of the songs that may appear in this story but the characters that aren't part of FMA are mine.

CHAPTER THREE

A week later

Ed looked around the living room surprised that Rose even allowed him and Al to step foot through the doorway. Nine pairs of eyes watched them carefully, making sure that they didn't pull any stunts. "hey, you kids want to see a trick?" Ed asked.

The kids looked at each other before whispering, trying to figure out if they would be allowed to. After a few minutes, they nodded and watched Ed, curious about what he was going to do. Ed smiled and showed them how his hand could turn into a knife. "That's not a trick. Brother says that automail can do that." A boy no more than nine said calmly.

"Give him credit, Jeremy, for a military dog that's somewhat intelligent." Rose remarked lightly coming into the room with some drinks.

"I'm amazed you wanted to talk with us." Ed calmly said looking at Rose and Ross.

"We've been doing some talking." Ross answered. "If the military agrees to our terms, we'll go with you to Central."

"What are your terms?"

"Our brothers and sisters come with us and when the military is done questioning us, the military has to pay us what our father left behind and then the military has to leave us alone." Rose said calmly. "if the military pulls any tricks, I'm not promising lives will be spared."

"We aren't compromising."

Rose looked serious and said, "Mr. Elric, I am trying to be civil and you can ask any idiot in this room who knows me, that I do not take kindly to military dogs."

"Stop calling us military dogs!" Ed shouted.

Rose closed her eyes for a few minutes and said opening her eyes again, "You never understood the rules."  
"What rules?"

"About alchemy. Something must be paid in return for the alchemy that one uses. The military doesn't fully understand the laws and rules, but you do. Don't you, Edward?"

"I don't see what this has to do with anything."

"Our great-grandfather was the first alchemist in our family. I am the first female alchemist in this family." Rose said calmly. "Ever since our great-grandfather's time we've had the belief that all alchemists are related through a spiritual connection."

"That's bullshit."

"How would you know? Its just like the special connection twins have. Or is that bullshit too?"

Ed sighed and stared at Ross, seeing that he wasn't going to argue against his sister. "Listen, I can see how much your father left behind for your family. But I need his number."

"578-666-0132-109." Rose said calmly. "I'm hoping, Mr. Elric, that you'll attempt to keep your promise."

Ed wrote down the number Rose said and Al looked at the number. "Brother, didn't the military used to give numbers to the officers?" Al asked sounding confused.

"Only if they are of high rank." Ross answered quickly. "Father was careful to never let the military know he was an alchemist, but somehow they learned of his suspicions about the Philosopher's Stone."

"What were they?" Ed asked looking interested.

Rose smiled innocently and leaned towards Ed until she could feel Ed's breath on her lips. "Leave that kind of questioning for the big boys." Rose said her eyes showing deep loathing. "You and your brother can sleep down here. Tomorrow we'll head for Central so that means, kids, pack clothes and whatever you don't want left behind but don't you dare bring anything more than what you need."

All the kids nodded and ran upstairs to start packing their stuff. "You're being civil." Ed pointed out when Rose headed towards the stairs.

Rose smiled and said, "Only because you're still a child. My mouth and "colorful vocabulary" is being reserved for Mustang."

"Brother, I don't understand her." Al said when Rose had gone upstairs.

Ed laid down on the couch and said, "Me neither, Al. But that's how you know if someone is a woman, they confuse the hell out of you."

Al looked at his brother and shrugged not really understanding. As most people said, "the opposite sex was the hardest to understand."

lost moonchild: sorry this is so short but I wanted to get this one done ASAP since I've got to deal with chaos for the time being.


	5. Chapter 4

**lostmoonchild: Thanks everybody for reviewing! I don't own FMA or any of the songs unless I say otherwise so don't sue me! I only own the characters who aren't part of FMA.**

Chapter Four

"CHARGE!"

Ed shouted in surprise and fell of the couch when one of young boys jumped on his stomach. "Wake up, lazy bones, breakfast is ready!" The boy shouted.

"Stop shouting, he can hear you." Rose scolded putting some pancakes on the table. "How'd you boys sleep?"

"Why do I get the feeling you aren't asking just to be a good hostess?" Ed questioned starting to eat.

Rose smiled and flexed her automail hand, watching quietly as the metal shone brightly in the light. "How'd you get an automail stomach and hand?" Al asked quietly.

"When Ross and I were born, I was connected to him by the wrist. Mother and Father used to joke that when we were in mother's womb, I was reaching to brother trying to keep him near me." Rose answered with a sad smile. "So when we were born, mother and father discovered that I didn't have a hand. Instead, my arm was connected to the back of his head like so.."

She bit her lip as she disconnected her hand revealing a stump. Everybody besides Ross watched as Rose put her arm to the back of his head, showing them what they looked like when they were little. "Twisted.." Jeremy said with a disgusted, yet knowing, look.

"We were like this for what? Three years?" Rose questioned before biting down on a leather strap as she reconnected her hand.

"More like five." Ross commented unable to keep from grinning.

"Really?" Ed asked looking shocked.

"We're just fucking with you two." Rose said taking the leather out of her mouth. "Our mother's house caught fire and as a result, I lost my hand from the wrist down and had a nice hole in my stomach that should have killed me."

"Why didn't it?" Al asked.

Rose grinned and said, "I shoved my shirt in my stomach until my new 'stomach' could be made. Took almost two hours just to get it made."

Ross nodded and watched as his sister left the room to go get the baby. "The fire destroyed so many things. Rose's hand and stomach, were among those lost."

"My foot!" The five year old girl said proudly.

"Yeah, she lost her automail foot in the fire. What we have now, Rose and I managed to save." Ross said ducking as a vase went flying and hit Ed on the head.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR!" Ed shouted.

Rose smiled innocently and said walking up to him, "I know you, Mr. Elric, but I'm curious on something."

"What's that?"

"How well can you fight?"

Ed stared at the teenage girl with shock and followed her outside, followed closely behind by everybody was in the kitchen. "DON'T GO DESTROYING YOUR AUTOMAIL YOU TWO!" Ross shouted as both alchemists attacked each other.

Rose started laughing as they started using alchemy on each other, several times coming close to destroying their automail parts. "BROTHER!" Al shouted sounding worried when Rose kicked Ed in the chest.

Rose spat blood out of her mouth when Ed managed to punch her. "Didn' your mom teach you only assholes hit girls?" Rose questioned with a grin, punching Ed as hard as she could in the stomach.

After about half an hour they had finished fighting each other when they attempted to attack each other using ice at the same time. "COLD!" Both teenagers shouted at the same time.

"You two get inside so I can take care of you both!" Ross shouted grabbing the two teenagers and pushing them inside the house.

Ed and Rose glared at each other and started shooting verbal insults at each other. "A match made in heaven." Ross joked an hour later when everybody left the house.

"We got everybody? Military dogs included?" Rose questioned quickly doing a head count. "You lot quit moving around so I can get a decent head count. Johnny, I mean it. Stop moving around."

Once all the kids were accounted for, the house was locked up and they started walking. "We'll take the train to Central, then we'll go to HQ where Mustang wants to see you." Ed said calmly as they walked.

Rose stopped for a few minutes when the wind started blowing and looked at Ed. "Who's Winry?" Rose asked quietly.

Ed stopped in his tracks and looked at the teenage girl, slightly surprised. "How do you know Winry?" Ed asked glaring at the girl.

"I don't know anybody named Winry. That's why I'm asking you who Winry is." Rose answered simply.

"Sister talks to the wind. Everybody says she's a wind talker, that's how she knows when there's somebody looking for her." One of the girls said proudly.

"Becca, shut up." Rose said calmly. "I expect my brothers and sisters to be left alone by the Military, Edward. The minute I get the feeling that the Military is harassing my brothers and sisters, I'm taking my siblings and leaving."

"Understood." Ed answered.

"Just so you know, neither my brother or I have any problems with killing anybody in the Military who try to keep us against our will." Rose whispered in Ed's ear. "If you're smart, Mr. Elric, you'll stay out of our way when we want to leave."

"Are you threatening me?" Ed asked looking at the teenage girl.

"No, I'm warning you. Something I rarely do to Military dogs." Rose answered before walking a little faster.

If it wasn't official before, it was now. This girl had serious issues with the Military and obviously wasn't afraid to speak her mind.

**lostmoonchild: Its short, I know. Read and review, flames are accepted as always.**


	6. Chapter 5

lostmoonchild: Okay, here's chapter five. Thanks everybody for the reviews! I don't own FMA or any of the songs unless I say otherwise. I only own the characters who aren't part of FMA so don't sue.

Chapter Five

"Wow, this place is huge!" One of the kids shouted looking amazed. "Is this where dad used to work?"

Rose nodded a little and said, "Mom used to work here once. That's how they met."

"Wow. So the Military helped some, right?"

"Don't give the Military such interesting credit." Ross said making sure all their brothers and sisters were still around. "Ask any idiot around here about the massacre."

"Massacre?" A kid around nine questioned looking confused.

"Yep. Massacre. Mom left the Military when she got told she'd have to kill people for no apparent reason. Dad stayed behind because we needed the money but he only had to do a bunch of research."

Ed glanced at the siblings and saw how much Ross and Rose both hated being in the Command Center. "You two ever come here when you were kids?" Ed questioned.

Rose nodded a little and said, "I know every part of this place better than the people who built it so I seriously suggest not trying to find us."

"You're going to try to leave after the hospitality Full Metal has been showing you?" A voice questioned.

Rose and Ross spun around and glared at Mustang. "Sister, who's that?" Amy asked innocently.

"Children, this is the biggest bastard to have ever existed in the history of the Earth and the biggest mistake that could have been made." Rose said coldly.

Mustang smiled coolly and looked at the kids. "Your mother and father certainly have been busy. I was only aware of you and Ross." Mustang said calmly.

Rose growled in annoyance and struggled to refrain from attacking Mustang. She took deep breaths and forced herself to calm down, knowing perfectly well that if she got angry then Mustang would be able to beat her in a fight. "You wanted to talk to us?" Rose said through clenched teeth.

Mustang smiled and led them to his office. "Hawkeye, watch the younger kids." Mustang said. "I have business with Rose and Ross."

"Oh hell, they got you working with this bastard?" Rose questioned looking at Hawkeye. "Riza, why didn't you just say 'no' like any normal woman could?"

Hawkeye's eyes flashed a little as she stared at the teenage girl. "Rose, mind your own business. Colonel, I don't do babysitting. Kids aren't exactly my strong point."

"Just entertain them with that gun you're carrying around." Ross suggested. "look, I'll make it easy on you and introduce you to the kids. We've got Kyle, Johnny, Jamie, Sam, Alex, Samara, Jeremy, Becca, Byrce, and Christina. Show them a gun and I can promise that they'll be quiet."

Rose smiled faintly and sat down, watching lazily as Mustang looked out the window before looking at the two teenagers. "Listen, what happened to your mother and father is very unfortunate. Even more unfortunate that you two were left to raise ten younger brothers and sisters by yourselves."

"Well if you assholes would just give us the money that was and probably still is in our father's account we wouldn't have to have such a pain in the ass time trying to support ten children and ourselves while trying to keep the damn house." Rose nearly shouted. "Nobody from the military stopped at the house for our mother's funeral, nobody in the Military wanted anything to do with us since our father died! Its like once he died our whole family died!"

Mustang looked at the teenage girl and saw the anger in her eyes that remarkably matched her own father's. "You were wearing a black sundress on the day of your mother's funeral and holding onto a baby. Ross was wearing a full tux that was black. Your younger sisters each wore a black dress that fell to their ankles. Your brothers, black dress shirts and black khaki pants. They were each crying, but you and Ross weren't." Mustang said calmly.

More anger flashed in Rose's eyes and slight anger flashed in Ross's eyes. "YOU COULDN'T EVEN COME OUT OF HIDING AND OFFER ANYTHING TO US!" Rose screamed, knowing that her brothers and sisters along with anybody outside the office could hear. "YOU STUPID SON OF A BITCH! MY FATHER TOLD YOU TO TAKE CARE OF HIS FAMILY, BUT INSTEAD YOU TURNED YOUR FUCKING BACK ON YOU! GOD, I HOPE YOU BURN IN HELL YOU FUCKING MURDERER!"

"Now that's enough!" Mustang all but shouted.

"TELL ME, WHAT'D IT FEEL LIKE MURDERING INNOCENT CHILDREN! IF MY FAMILY WAS ISHBALIN, WOULD YOU KILL US TOO! RIGHT IN YOUR OWN OFFICE!" Rose screamed unable to keep from crying in anger.

Ross held onto his sister and stared at a now furious Mustang with a look that plainly said, "I want a word with you alone. Let my sister go calm down and we'll talk," before softly talking to his twin, struggling to get her to stop crying. Softly, he whispered something into his sister's ear that sounded to Mustang like, "Its okay. You get the kids ready to go, I want a word with Mustang."

"Fuck him… I just want to leave." Rose whispered clinging tightly to her brother.

"I know."

Mustang raised an eyebrow at how patiently Ross was waiting for his sister to calm down. He knew from personal experience neither of their parents were patient, and wondered for a moment where he learned patience. A small smirk spread across Mustang's face as he thought that maybe a day or two pretending to be one of the soldiers had taught the boy something about patience. But then again, maybe not. Deception is a valid strategy when fighting against an opponent and right now Mustang was willing to bet that the teenage boy was using deception just to calm Rose down enough that nothing would seem wrong to the younger children.

After a few minutes Rose collected herself and walked out of the office, standing as tall as she could and just as emotionless as she had been taught to appear when around others. "You handle your sister very well." Mustang commented looking at Ross with calm eyes.

Ross stared calmly at Mustang before turning towards the door. "I don't want anybody from the Military around my brothers and sisters." Ross said looking back at Mustang. "I don't care how much of my father's money you send to us, but send enough so that my sister and I can build a new life and raise our brothers and sisters according to the way our parents would have wanted."

"You and your sister are different, you realize that. You have the discipline of a soldier, your sister tries desperately to be free like the wind." Mustang commented.

"My sister and I are different, because we aren't one person." Ross answered shooting a glare at the dark haired man. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to ensure that my stupid alchemy slut of a sister doesn't attempt to blow up the Philosopher's Stone."

"WHAT!"

Ross ran out of the office and grinned when he saw Mustang trying to catch them. Before anybody in the room knew it, there was a flash of light and a bunch of smoke. When the smoke settled, the twelve siblings were missing and in their place was a single rose that was the color of life's blood and of the infamous Philosopher's Stone.

"Sir, should we alert the guards?" Hawkeye questioned.

"No. Let them go. If somebody goes after them, we'll have to bury the person." Mustang said before looking at Ed and Al. "She's been vanishing like that every time we get her within our grasp. She's a very sneaky bitch."

Nodding slightly, Ed and Al stared at the rose, surprised that it was already wilting and near dead. Was it a symbol of what was to come later on? To be honest, neither of them knew and didn't want to find out right away.

lostmoonchild; there! That chapter is finally finished which I'm kinda grateful for. Next chapter, Ed and Al go back home and get a surprise they'll never forget. If somebody wants some more action, then chapter six is just for you. Read and review, flames are accepted as always.


	7. Chapter 6

lostmoonchild: thanks for the reviews! You all know what I do and don't own so that'll act as my disclaimer for the chappie!

CHAPTER SIX

Six months later

"Ah, its good to be home again!" Ed muttered stretching as he and Al walked down the road towards the Rockwell's house.

Al nodded in agreement and noticed a brown haired girl watching them from some bushes. "Brother, isn't that Amy?" Al questioned looking at the brown haired girl.

Ed looked in the direction his brother was and nodded. "Hey, that is Amy. Amy, what are you doing here? Did you get separated from your brothers and sisters?" Ed asked as Amy cautiously walked out of the bushes.

Amy shook her head before answering, "No. I was going to Old Lady Pinako's house. Brother wanted to know if he could borrow some of Winry's tools cause I'm beginning to outgrow my foot."

Ed nodded a bit and started walking, noticing how Amy was sticking with Al. He thought it was kind of cute, how the young girl wanted to be with his brother. He had a feeling that once he got Al back to normal, Al would start dating Amy as soon as they were both old enough to date each other without anybody yelling or anything.

They walked in silence for a while and Amy hid behind Al when Den started barking. "Hey, Den." Ed said with a grin as he patted Den on the head before letting out a yell when a wrench came in contact with his skull.

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO STOP FOLLOWING ME AROUND!" A voice shouted sounding frustrated. "GOD, I SWEAR YOU'RE JUST LIKE A LOST PUPPY!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" Ed shouted as he rubbed the large bump that was now forming on his head.

"Ed! What is wrong with you?" Winry questioned looking shocked.

Ed pulled Winry behind him before glaring at Rose. "Just what do you think you're doing here?" Ed questioned glaring at the teenage girl still.

Rose brushed her hair out of her eyes and stared at him calmly. "Well, after the bastard sent you and your brother to get my brother and myself, my brother and I determined that our brothers and sisters stood a better chance in being raised where an alchemist lived for some time. We rather like this place, its good for the children."

"AND YOU COULDN'T GO BACK TO YOUR OWN HOME!" Ed shouted starting to get frustrated.

"WHAT HOME, EDWARD!" Rose screamed, her face barely inches away from Ed's face. "WE HAVE NO FAMILY TO GO BACK TO, NOBODY TO TELL US THAT EVERYTHING'S GOING TO BE BETTER! IF YOU'RE SO SMART, TELL ME WHAT IN THE HELL WE HAVE TO GO BACK TO? A FUCKING TOWN THAT HATES US BECAUSE OF THE FACT THERE ARE ACTUALLY ALCHEMISTS THERE!"

Ed stepped back completely shocked. He had no idea how badly the large family was treated because of there being alchemists in their family. How much worse were things for the oldest set of twins because the girl was the alchemist and the boy loved to work with automail?

Amy hugged her sister and winced a little when she felt her sister's automail hand dig into her shoulder. She knew that her sister didn't mean to hurt her so she didn't make any noise or anything to indicate that her sister was hurting her. "Sister, you're hurting me." Amy said quietly when her sister accidentally squeezed her shoulder too tightly.

"Oops, sorry." Rose said letting go of her sister. "What'd you come here for, squirt?"

Amy looked up at Winry with innocent eyes and said, "Brother wanted to know if he could borrow some of your tools. He gave me a list of what he needs."

Winry nodded and took the list that the small girl gave her. "Alright, you wanna come inside? I'm sure grandma has some cookies for you to take home." Winry said.

Amy nodded in excitement and followed Winry into the house. "No fighting, sister! Remember what brother told you!"

"Yeah, yeah."

When both girls had gone inside, Rose and Ed started glaring at each other again. "The Military didn't really appreciate you running off like that." Ed said still glaring at the teenage girl.

"Oh, did I hurt the Military's feelings? I am sooo sorry. I'll write a letter to them and apologize for my behaviors." Rose said sarcastically. "Honestly, Edward, how much longer do you plan on hunting my brothers and sisters and me down?

"Come with Al and me back to Central and I'll stop hunting you down."

Rose pretended to look thoughtful before punching at Ed. "OVER MY DEAD BODY!"  
Ed dodged and punched the teenage girl, barely aware when she tried to use alchemy on him. "Not going to work!" Ed shouted.

Winry and Amy ran out of the house just in time to see both teens punch each other hard enough to send the other flying in the opposite direction. "SISTER!" "ED!" Winry and Amy shouted at the same time.

Neither alchemist could hear them as they started using alchemy against each other. Ed ducked when Rose shot some flames at him and a yell escaped Rose's lips when she got sprayed with a heavy stream of water. "BASTARD!" Rose screamed. "YOU GOT MY SHIRT WET!"

"SEND ME THE BILL!"

"FUCK YOU!"

Rose screamed when Ed put a hand over her stomach and watched in horror as the metal pieces went through her shirt. She shook a little as she lifted her ruined shirt and saw the hole in her stomach. Sparks shot out from the severed wires, threatening to touch the scarred bare skin.

Before Ed knew what was happening, Rose charged at him and grabbed his automail arm. "Be grateful I'm not a murderer." Rose hissed before destroying Ed's automail arm.

Both teenagers started punching at each other and after nearly half an hour, both teenagers fell over unconscious. "You call your brother, Al and I will get them inside." Winry said.

----HALF AN HOUR LATER----

"WHAT IN THE HELL WERE YOU TWO THINKING!" Ross shouted glaring at his sister and Ed.

Both teenagers looked at each other before looking at Winry and Ross. "Heat of the moment." Both teenagers answered at the same time.

"Honestly, Ed, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Winry asked glaring at Ed.

"Not my fault."  
"Well, its not my fucking fault." Rose snapped looking irritated. "Brother, how much longer till my stomach's done?"

Ross sighed and showed his sister the piece of automail she'd call a new stomach. "The design is different but it'll serve the same purposes. Destroy this one and I'm gonna ring your neck."

Rose smiled innocently at her brother before saying, "Thank you, broder."

"Alchemy slut."

"So alchemy is my lover. Big deal."

"Winry?"

"Two days, Ed, give me two days." Winry answered brushing her blonde hair out of her eyes as she started working on Ed's arm.

Ross sighed a little and noticed the two teenagers starting up a verbal argument. "You two, come with me." Ross said grabbing his sister's arm and pulling Ed up.

"What'd we do?"

Both teenagers started shouting when Ross threw both teenagers into a room and locked the door. "STAY IN THERE UNTIL YOU TWO CAN WORK OUR YOUR DIFFERENCES AND LEARN TO PLAY NICE!" Ross shouted.

"BRODER!" Rose screamed pounding on the door. "LET ME OUT! YOU KNOW I DON'T LIKE BEING LOCKED UP!"

"DEAL WITH IT! YOU'LL STAY IN THERE UNTIL YOU TWO CAN PLAY NICELY WITH EACH OTHER."

Winry looked slightly amused as she stared at Ross. "Think they'll get along?" Winry questioned.

A mischievous grin spread across Ross's face as he showed Winry the keys. "Oh yeah." Ross answered grinning. "Just give them a day or two."

Nodding, Winry returned to her work and showed Amy how to repair automail.

Lostmoonchild: okay, incase somebody's confused on the word "broder" its not some word that actually has a meaning. Its more of a little kid version of "brother" which I'll admit to using when hyper. Anyway, read and review flames are accepted.


	8. Chapter 7

lostmoonchild: Okay, thanks for the reviews, everybody! I don't own FMA or most of the songs so don't sue. Ya'll know what's mine.

CHAPTER SEVEN

They had been quiet for almost two hours now and everybody was getting nervous.

Winry and Ross pressed their ears against the door and listened quietly for any sounds. They looked relieved when they could hear Rose and Ed talking about something. "This is a good sign." Ross said looking amused. "Neither of them are dead."

Winry nodded faintly and listened quietly to the conversation that the two teenagers were having. "Hope they'll work out an agreement soon…" Winry whispered to herself.

THIS WAS FAR BEYOND STUPID!

Ed groaned and hit his head, watching as Rose looked at her nails almost as if trying to figure out if she should paint her nails later on or just leave them be. "Nice blue color… nightlife blue maybe." Rose said thoughtfully.

"Never would have passed you off as a girly girl." Ed commented with a slightly amused look.

"I don't wear dresses unless I have to." Rose answered. "My mother's funeral… Never mind. You're just a Military dog, you wouldn't understand."

"Sure I would. Al and I lost our mother." Ed answered.

"How old were you?"

"I was eleven."

"Damn. Barely an adolescent. No father or anybody else to take care of you?"

"Old Lady Pinako. But Al and I left soon after because Mustang thought we'd make good State Alchemists."

"Mustang thought the same with me. Changed his mind shortly after because I accidentally got one of the Military's cars up in a tree."

Ed raised an eyebrow at the teenage girl before asking, "How was that an "accident" if you can control alchemy without a problem now?"

"I was four and was hot. So I stole one of my father's books and accidentally drew some plant symbol instead of a water symbol. I had eaten an apple and there were a couple seeds on the ground then yeah… you can guess the rest."

Ed started laughing and said, "I didn't make that mistake."

Rose smiled faintly and said, "Brother should let us out. We're getting along."

"How long is he going to keep us locked up?"

"Until he's certain we aren't going to kill each other."

Ed sighed and said, "What's he want us to do? Make an agreement."  
Rose nodded a little before looking at the door. She knew her brother and Winry were listening outside the door and sighed a little bit. "Alright, Elric, lets start making some agreements."

"Like what?"

"I dunno. How about boundaries?"

"Alright. You don't try to kill me or destroy my brother's blood seal if you even know where that is and I won't try to drag you and your siblings to Central."

"Sounds good. You don't try to convince my brothers and sisters that Ross and me are fugitives on the run and I'll cut back on the Military bastard thing."

"How much?"

"Ten percent."

"How about a total hundred?"

"You trying to kill me? I get my kicks out of watching Military personnel get pissed. Twenty percent."

"Seventy five."

"Forty five."

"Fifty."

"Deal."

Both teenagers smiled a little at their personal agreement before starting to talk about other agreements that would make life easier. "You don't go thinking I don't know what's more important and I won't go insulting you." Rose said lazily as she looked around the room.

"Somehow I doubt you're going to be able to handle the not insulting me."

"Alright, you caught me. I'll cut the insults down but they won't be as small as you are."

"DON'T CALL ME SMALL!"

Rose started laughing until her face was slightly pink. "Alright, anything else?" Rose questioned when she had calmed down.

"Nope, think that's pretty much it."

"Alrighty then. BRODER! LET US OUT NOW!"

"You two gonna stop fighting!" Ross shouted.

"YES!" Both teenagers shouted starting to pound on the door.

Both teenagers kept pounding on the door until they found themselves on the floor. "GET OFF ME, ALCHEMY FREAK!" Rose screamed when Ed landed on her.

"ALCHEMY SLUT!"

"BASTARD!"

"WHORE!"

"SLUT'S THE SAME THING AS WHORE, DUMBASS!"

"Do I have to lock you two up in that room again?" Ross questioned with a warning look.

"NO!"

Both teenagers looked at each other before starting to laugh. Maybe this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship... "Pipsqueak." "DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

...or maybe not.

lostmoonchild: Hope this kind of provided some entertainment. Read and review, flames are accepted.


	9. Chapter 8

lostmoonchild: Thanks for the reviews! Sorry it took so long to update this story is causing some writers block which is getting rather sad. I don't own FMA or any of the songs unless I say otherwise. Everything else is mine.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The sounds of the night were soothing for Al and Amy. It had grown dark before Rose and Ross left Winry's house but Amy wanted to stay and play with Al. Now that it was dark, Al felt it was his duty to make sure that Amy had gotten home safe and sound.

"Was it this beautiful where you used to live?" Al asked looking down at Amy.

Amy shook her head and said softly, "Dunno. Brother and sister didn't let us out of the house or near the windows at night. Everybody there hated us because of what sister is."

"Just because she's an alchemist?"

"No, because our family is full of alchemists. They tolerated our family because we always made sure that there was plenty of food for everybody. But then when they discovered that sister was an alchemist, they decided they couldn't handle it anymore. Daddy was the only one keeping them from hurting our family so they didn't do anything. Then he died but they didn't do anything because of mommy. When she died, there was nobody to stop them."

"They started the fire?" Al questioned.

"Yeah. They all hoped that we'd die in it but we got out. Except one of my brothers and myself. Sister ran inside and managed to get us out, but she got badly hurt."

"Is that why she doesn't like brother or me?" Al asked.

"She likes you both. She's just not really good at showing how she feels." Amy answered with a smile.

Al nodded in understanding and looked up at the stars. "Brother isn't really good at showing how he feels either. He tries to be tough all the time but sometimes…"

"He just breaks down." Amy finished with an understanding look.

"Yeah."

"Older siblings think they have to be strong all the time. They won't break down easily and when they do, they think that they're weak."

"yeah."

"But they aren't. It takes courage to show how you feel. They want to pretend that they're immune to the world, that they can't show any emotions."

"You're more observant than your family thinks."

Amy shrugged and said, "Somebody has to be. Brothers and sisters all want to close their eyes to the world so I have to watch."

"Do they know?"

"Yeah. They don't really care though. Just as long as I stay out of trouble."

Al nodded in understanding and stopped when Amy walked up to the doorway. "See you tomorrow, right?" Al asked.

"Yeah. Thank you for walking me home."

"No problem."

Amy smiled and ran to Al, hugging him for a minute. She thought she was able to get her arms around Al's waist but quickly learned she couldn't. "I hope your brother finds the philosopher's stone for you, Al."

"I'm sure he will."

Amy smiled before bidding Al goodnight and running into the house. If Al could, he'd be smiling now. He turned and started walking back to Winry's house, hoping that he would get his normal body back someday soon.

Unknown to him, a certain six year old girl was hoping the same thing as she drifted off to sleep.

lostmoonchild: Okay, that chapter didn't take too long to write. Only took about half an hour but I've been kinda busy and when I decided to write this one I was bored and frustrated cause I couldn't think of any limes to write for another story so this chapter was made. Anyway, read and review!


	10. Chapter 9

lostmoonchild: Sorry it took a while to update, I've been getting some amounts of writers block and have been tired due to getting very little sleep because of my jobs. I don't own FMA or any of the songs. Ya'll know who I own.

Chapter Nine

Winry sat in the dark kitchen sipping on some warm milk in an attempt to help her sleep that night. Her mind was simply buzzing with that day's activities and things she had to make sure to do tomorrow. She needed to pick up some more automail parts to fill in an order that had come from a family that was at least two towns away to meet the deadline.

A sigh escaped her lips as she put the glass in the sink, knowing that she was just coming up with reasons to stay awake. She wanted to make sure that Ed wouldn't run off in the middle of the night and leave her alone again. But he worked for the Military, he couldn't help but be gone for so long and it wasn't Winry's fault that she worried about him.

"Winry? What are you doing up?"

Winry nearly screamed and she spun around, shocked to find Ed standing in the kitchen staring at her with those almost golden eyes of his. "You scared me, Ed! What are you doing up!" Winry hissed trying to get her heart to stop pounding.

"I asked you first." Ed answered getting some water.

"You should drink milk."

"Yuck."

Winry smiled at her childhood friend's belief on milk and instead of getting after him, decided to just let him get away without a lecture. "You're not going to get any taller if you don't drink milk, you know." Winry commented.

"Don't call me short!" Ed shouted before getting slapped on the head.

"You're gonna wake everybody up!" Winry hissed.

"So what are you doing up at this hour?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"You too?"

"Yeah. Thinking too much about what I have to do."

"Making sure I come back wouldn't happen to be one of those things, would it?" Ed questioned with a grin.

"Alchemist freak."

"Automail junkie."

Winry smiled a little knowing that they were both just kidding around with each other. "You're one to talk. How many arms have you gone through already?" Winry joked.

Ed smiled and looked outside. "I know, lets go for a walk." Ed commented grabbing Winry's hand.

Before it even registered what had been said, Winry found herself outside walking next to Ed under the moonlight. "Its always peaceful at night. Don't have to worry about being attacked by anybody." Winry sighed.

Ed nodded a little before answering, "Sometimes I get a little homesick. Granted there's nothing happening but its good to relax sometimes."

"You? Relax? Yeah right. You and I both know that you're hooked on adrenaline and searching for the Philosopher's Stone."

"And you're hooked on automail."

Both teenagers smiled and walked to the riverside. "Remember when we were kids we'd always go swimming here during the summer?" Winry asked smiling a little. "You lost your swim trunks once and we had to take the long way just to get you home?"

Ed blushed and said, "Yeah. We never did find those damn trunks."

"It was so funny. Course I was keeping my eyes away from your lower region."

"You covered it up pretty good with that hat."

"Yeah, what'd we use to cover up your butt? I forgot."

"We didn't. That's part of the reason we took the long way home."

They laughed at the memory and remembered how Trisha Elric had been upset at first but soon ended up laughing. That had been one of the most embarrassing times they had spent together and one of their favorite memories. "I wish…" Ed started but fell silent.

"What?"

"We could spend more times like this."

"Like what?"

"Remembering what had happened to us before. Sitting together and talking about the past."

"There's always going to be our past together, Ed." Winry said gently.

"Yeah, but I want something more."

"What?"

Ed looked at Winry and grabbed her hands. "Winry, I… damn, this is hard." Ed sighed closing his eyes.

"Just take a deep breath and think for a minute what you want to say to me." Winry answered with a soothing voice.

Ed nodded a little before taking a deep breath. "Winry, I wanted to know if you'd give me the honor of you being my wife." Ed muttered, his heart pounding loudly against his chest.

"Ed…" Winry started, her blue eyes filling with tears.

"C'mon, don't bring out the waterworks!" Ed said looking shocked.

"Yes."

"What?"

"Yes!"

Ed fell backwards when Winry tackled him and grinned a little. "Glad you accepted. We should probably go back to your house before somebody notices we're gone." Ed commented gently kissing Winry.

Winry nodded and responded to the kiss before quietly getting up. Smiling, they walked back to the house before bidding each other goodnight. "We'll tell everybody soon, right?" Winry murmured.

"Yeah. But lets just enjoy this being our little secret for now."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too, Winry."

Smiling, they went to their rooms and fell into a light sleep, both teenagers dreaming of the future that awaited them.

lostmoonchild: Okay, there was some Ed/Winry fluff. I love reviews so lets keep them coming! Read and review, flames accepted. Ja ne for now!


	11. Chapter 10

lostmoonchild: Here's chapter ten! Stupid question: how many ppl saw Ed and Rose getting together then were shocked when Ed proposed to Winry instead? Unfortunately I can't bring myself to bring our favorite Full Metal any agony but in about three chapters or so, the story is coming to an end. Anyway, I don't own FMA or any of the songs unless I say otherwise. Everybody else is mine.

CHAPTER TEN

A couple days later Armstrong showed up and when Rose saw him, she automatically tried to pull one of her escapes but Ed grabbed the back of her shirt causing her to stop and gag from the lack of air. "Edward Elric! What are you doing to the girl?" Armstrong asked.

"Keeping her from running off." Ed answered simply. "She's that colonel's daughter. The one who went missing a few years back?"

Rose stomped on Ed's foot and glared at Armstrong with strong loathing. "Nice to see you again, Rose. Last time I saw you, you were such a little girl." Armstrong said with a smile.

"Fuck off." Rose snapped looking around and spotting her brothers and sisters. "You lot get in the house. Tell brother."

"Siblings?" Armstrong questioned.

"Answer that, Elric, and die the most painful death imaginable." Rose snapped glaring at Ed before turning her attention to Armstrong. "What do you want?"

Armstrong sighed and said, "You have your father's spirit, Rose, I'll admit it."

Rose frowned and said attempting to get at Armstrong, "How dare you talk about my father! The military murdered him and you have the nerve to speak about him! Damn you!"

Ed held Rose back and shot a hopeless look at Al. "What's going on here?" Ross asked looking confused.

"And there's Ross! You've certainly grown too. Still look like your father."

"STOP TALKING ABOUT MY FATHER!" Rose screamed still trying to get at Armstrong.

"Ross! Help me out here!" Ed shouted.

Ross grabbed his sister and pulled her eyes from Armstrong. "But your sister has your mother's temper." Armstrong commented.

"MURDERER!" Rose screamed. "STOP TALKING ABOUT MY PARENTS! YOU MURDERED THEM! THE MILITARY MURDERED THEM AND IS TRYING TO PRETEND THEY DIDN'T BUT I KNOW THE TRUTH AND I'M TELLING!"

Armstrong sighed at the teenage girl's outburst and said, "If you're so willing to tell, then what was your father working on?"

"THE TRUTH!"

Ross sighed and pulled his sister away from the group. "She doesn't know and neither do I." Ross said pushing his sister towards the house. "So leave her alone."

Rose glared at Ed and frowned. "Tell him about anybody, Edward, and you can kiss your ass goodbye cause Mustang isn't the only idiot who knows how to work fire alchemy."

Ed watched as Rose and Ross went into the house before turning his attention to Armstrong. "Sorry about her, she's still unhappy with the military." Ed muttered.

"She's stuck on that idea. I guess losing her parents within six months of each other had an effect on her."

"Sir?"

Armstrong looked at the house and said, "Her father and Mustang were good friends, so when she learned that Colonel Mustang had taken over as Colonel, she got the idea that the military was responsible for her father's death."

"And her mother?"

"Wasted away from grief. She loved her husband and couldn't stand being without him."

"Damn."

"it's a shame to be honest. Both Ross and Rose were going to be working for the military but after their parents died, both turned their back on the idea. Said that they couldn't bring themselves to work for the people who had brought forth their parents' deaths."

Ed stared at the house for a few minutes completely surprised. He had always known that Rose and Ross both hated the Military and learned from experience that both hated Mustang, but he never knew the full story behind their anger. Ever since they had met the twin teenagers and their younger siblings, Ed and Al had always assumed Rose was holding onto a grudge and Ross was trying desperately to convince his sister to let the grudge go but that honestly wasn't the case. Rose was grieving even after all this years and probably had forgiven the Military but wasn't willing to forgive herself. So every word she said about the Military and every action she did to somebody from the Military, she was saying about herself and probably pleading somebody to hear her. But she was so far gone in her grief, that nobody was able to hear her desperate cries.

After a few minutes Ed shook his head a little, realizing that not everything Rose had said and done was directed at herself. She was lashing out at the Military, trying to get them to see what had happened to the family and that they needed to be helped but also to be left alone. "Figuring out my sister, are you?" Ross's voice asked suddenly.

Ed jumped and looked at the tall boy, seeing sorrow in his gray eyes. "I think so." Ed answered, noticing that Armstrong had left. Probably to see if he could find a place for the night that didn't involve being around the twins and their siblings.

Ross nodded a little and said, "I don't hold any grudges against the Military or against Mustang. I get angry at them sometimes, because I know that they're more than capable of helping my family but they don't."

"They can't do everything to make the pain go away."

"Maybe not, but they can help ease the pain. Every time we see somebody in the Military uniform, it tears a huge scab off of our hurt and makes us remember how much we hurt in the first place."

"But you all don't act as bad as Rose."

"Because Rose doesn't want to let go of her pain. She'll only be happy when she sees our parents standing in front of us again and telling us that it'd be alright. But everybody who knows how death works, knows that won't be the case."

Ed nodded slightly and looked at the teenage boy. "And you? When will you be happy?" Ed questioned.

"When my sister is happy."

"Think that's ever gonna happen?"

"Someday."

"I hate to ask, but how much does your sister know about the Philosopher's Stone?" Ed questioned.

"Enough to satisfy curiosity. She's not stupid enough to make one, not with the main ingredients required to create one."

"Human life."

Ross nodded and said, "None of us are killers, Edward, you and your brother know that better than anybody else. My sister's threats of sending people back to the Military in coffins, nothing more than words."

"She's not innocent."

"I know that. I knew that since before we were born. Finally admitted it when she promised mom that she'd be strong… for us."

Ed nodded in understanding and said, "You want to join the Military though, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"But you don't know what your sister would say."

"I know what she'll say in front of the kids. What she'll say when the kids aren't around is what I'm more afraid of."

"You're scared of your own sister?"

"You see what I deal with every day. The girl looks like me so when she's pissed at me, its like I'm pissed off at myself… except I'll be seeing a female version of me."

Ed nodded again and admitted silently that it wasn't a wonder why in the world Ross was afraid of his sister. The girl had a temper that rivaled his own and could scare the hell out of anybody who pissed her off just by one little glare. "C'mon, lets go see if we can find Captain Spazz." Ed commented with a grin.

"He still does that sparkly spazz thing? Oh my fucking God." Ross said unable to keep from laughing.

If Ed had to choose who he'd rather hang out with, he'd choose Ross any old day.

lostmoonchild: Oh yeah, thanks for the reviews and I would absolutely love it if you all left a review of what you all think so far about the story. Good, bad, or some random thing, I don't mind. Ja ne for now, I'm gonna vanish.


	12. Chapter 11

lostmoonchild: Okay, this is the fifth attempt to post this chapter and thankfully fanfiction is letting me update this story. Thanks for the reviews. I don't own FMA or any of the songs that may be mentioned. Everybody else is mine so don't sue.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

"YOU LOT HURRY UP!"

The kids ran around the house gathering clothes to pack before running outside with suitcases and duffle bags. They were leaving today, none of the kids knew why exactly, all Ross and Rose had said was to pack their stuff and be ready to leave. All they knew was that their sister had come home pissed and when their brother got home, both teenagers were in their room yelling at each other.

Three hours later, Rose came storming out and began throwing clothes in a bag, telling the kids to pack up. Ross looked unhappy too but packed some clothes away as well. They could all tell something was happening but they didn't know what happening. Now, they were standing outside waiting for somebody. "You're late." Rose commented when they saw the Elrics.

"Well, excuse us but some of us have stuff to put away before we left." Ed snapped.

"And we didn't?"

"Enough, you two." Ross said. "We got a lot of ground to cover."

They all nodded and started walking, the children each not understanding what was happening until it dawned on them a while later. They were moving again. But why were they moving? Everything was going so well, nobody was out to kill them because of there being alchemists around. Instead everybody accepted them with welcome arms and helped them out when they needed it. So why were they leaving such a good place? Were they going back to their old home? If they were, was there anything left?

All of them doubted that there was even a home to go back to and knew that there had to be a good reason as to why they were leaving such a good home. Their older siblings never moved them unless they felt there was some kind of risk or had some kind of calling. So what was their calling?

The months flew by quickly and the children had grown a few inches. A few of them had started to learn alchemy while the rest took up hand to hand fighting. Ed admitted that each kid seemed to have strengths in either alchemy or fighting, but he had begun to notice how the younger kids were trying to search for something else.

It was obvious that the oldest twins were trying hard to keep their younger siblings happy but it was also obvious they couldn't make all their siblings' wishes come true. Not with strength, brains, nor alchemy.

When they stopped in a small town, the youngest child was sick so Rose put on a light jacket and said she was getting some medicine for the child. "I'll go too." Ross said looking worried.

"No, you stay." Rose answered, her voice low. "I'll be okay, brother, don't worry."

Ross looked doubtful as he watched his sister zipper up the jacket and watched as she pocketed some money before heading out the door. "Careful, dearest sister." Ross whispered sitting down on the couch and waiting patiently.

Rose walked quickly down the dark street, her heart pounding loudly against her chest as she walked. She knew somebody was following her but she wouldn't stop and she wouldn't look behind her to see who it was. Quickly, she walked into a store that sold the medicine her brother needed and bought the medicine. "Are you okay, miss?" The store clerk questioned.

"Um… yeah." Rose answered gripping the bag tightly before leaving the store.

She kept in the lights and stopped only for a minute which proved to be a mistake. Somebody put their hand over her mouth and hissed, "Make any attempts to get away or make any noises, and I'll slit your throat."

Rose closed her eyes and tried to keep from showing she was afraid. When the person moved their hand away from her mouth, Rose started trying to keep from crying. "What do you want from me?" Rose whispered a silent tear rolling down her face.

"A few things, actually." The person whispered putting a hand on her thigh.

"No, please don't." Rose pleaded. "I have children. Don't hurt me."

Why she chose to plead for her life, Rose had no idea. She knew she could have kicked the person's ass and beat him into the ground but she got the feeling that if she tried anything, she would indeed be killed. She also knew that there was no way her brother would be able to raise ten children by himself, that he would eventually be forced to put the kids into a new home so he could raise a number that he could take care of without problems.

"Shh… don't cry, my pet. You won't die tonight if you stay still." The stranger whispered, their breath warm on her throat.

Chills went down Rose's spine and she did the only thing she could think of. She spun around and punched the person, crying out when a needle was put into her arm and strange contents injected. The person fled before Rose had a chance to do anything else. Deciding to just get back to where her brothers and sisters were, Rose grabbed the bag and ran as fast as she could. "You okay?" Ross asked when Rose came back.

"Yeah. Decided to run home. Towns creep me out at night." Rose said heading to the bathroom. "I'm gonna take a shower then get my ass to bed. Night."

Something was up, and Ross was determined to find out. No matter what happened.

lostmoonchild: The beginning of the end has officially begun! -evil laughter but starts coughing- Anyway, read and review, flames are accepted. Next chappie will be a happy chapter cause somebody's gonna get married.


	13. Chapter 12

lostmoonchild: Okay, here's chapter twelve and thanks for the review. Thirteen should be arriving sometime next week if everybody asks nicely. I don't own FMA or anything else unless I say otherwise.

CHAPTER TWELVE

"Scared?"

"Hell no!"

Ross smiled as he adjusted Ed's tie before admiring for a minute how the blonde looked. Ed was dressed in a black tux and looking slightly worried about what today would bring. "Deep breaths, Ed, we wouldn't want the groom to faint would we?" Ross joked with a serious tone.

"Guess not."

That's right. Edward Elric and Winry Rockbell were getting married today. It had been a year since Ed proposed to Winry and a year since Winry accepted. Ed had asked Al to be his best man and Ross to be in the wedding as well.

Since Winry was an only child, she didn't have a sister to be her maid of honor but she did have a backup plan. She had literally cornered Rose and asked if the girl wanted to be in the wedding. At first Rose tried to get out of being in the wedding, but once she found out her brother would be in the wedding too she accepted.

Amy was going to be the flower girl since she was the youngest girl and her twin brother the ring bearer since he was old enough to know that he couldn't eat the ring. With everybody's part chosen in the wedding, all that was left was to figure out where and when it'd be, who would be the one to marry them, and how in the world they were going to get married that wouldn't piss off a now wheelchair bound maid of honor.

About six months previously they were in Central when they heard a thud behind them. They looked behind them to find Rose on the ground unconscious. She had been rushed to the hospital only for all of them to learn that she was sick with some kind of unknown virus. Within two days, the virus had destroyed the nerves along her spine making it impossible for Rose to even walk and was steadily making it hard to keep her body functioning properly.

At first they were all upset about what was happening but one "if I can still use my hands for alchemy then don't consider me screwed yet!" comment from the teenage girl lifted their spirits slightly. Unfortunately, she was beginning to lose the use of her hands, only able to push herself short distances in a wheelchair and dress without needing too much help other than needing help standing if she was wearing pants or a skirt. Drawing alchemy symbols was getting harder as the days passed, unable to use thin chalk without breaking it and it had become obvious that Rose would consider herself damned if she had to resort to using thick pieces of chalk. Eventually, she just stopped using alchemy and seemed to be losing her spirit as the days passed.

Now was the day of the wedding and Ed couldn't have been more nervous. He gulped when he saw Winry wearing her wedding dress, shocked that she had chosen to have her hair curled a bit. When the music started, Winry walked down the aisle following Amy and Bryce.

"HI WINRY!" One of the kids shouted. Which one it was, Ed didn't know.

"You shut up!" Rose snapped looking annoyed as Ross pushed her down the aisle.

They started laughing before noticing that the wedding was being recorded. Deciding to simply ignore the camera, Ed took Winry's hand and smiled warmly at her in a comforting manner. "Ready?" Ed questioned softly.

Winry nodded and smiled warmly, showing that she was ready to spend the rest of her life with Ed. "Ready." Winry confirmed.

"Dearly beloved…" the priest began showing that the wedding was beginning (A/N okay, I'm not really feeling all that great and I'm afraid if I write the priest's part then Ed and Winry's vows, I'm gonna be introducing my brother to partially digested supper since this kind of mushy stuff makes me nauseous and when there was the Ed/Winry moment I was laughing so hard at how disgusting it sounded to me).

Once the vows were exchanged they were all having a fun time celebrating the wedding. "Awesome wedding!" Ross said slapping Ed on his back. "Could have told the priest to shut up and get it over with."

"When you get married, we'll shout that for you. But then you'll have to deal with me sticking around cause Winry will probably make me sleep on the couch."

Ross started laughing and nodded. "Okay, deal. Now, c'mon! Lets see who can handle the most drinks."

"You're on!"

"DON'T GET HIM TOO DRUNK! HE SHOULD BE ABLE TO REMEMBER WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN TONIGHT!" Winry and Rose shouted at the same time.

"WHAT ARE YOU, ROSE! MY WIFE!"

"ARE YOU NUTS! WINRY'S PRETTY BRAVE TO BE MARRYING YOU, ALCHEMY ASS!"

Ross started laughing and watched as Ed and Rose got into yet another verbal argument, noticing when Rose looked confused and asked what they were fighting for and what they were doing at a party. "I'd better get her home." Ross said looking sorry. "Thanks for inviting us, guys, it was a great wedding."

"We're at a wedding?"

"Ed and Winry's."

"Oh, okay. Where are we going?"

"We're going home."

"Why?"

"So you can get some rest. You're sick."

"I don't feel sick."

"Believe me, dearest sister, you are."

Rose shook her head and glared silently at Ross. "Where the hell are we going? I didn't say that I'm ready to leave yet." Rose said putting the brakes on.

Ross nearly fell over his sister's wheelchair causing everybody to laugh. "That's cruel!" Ross shouted.

"Cruelty for cruelty." Rose answered taking the brakes off the wheelchair and jerking to the side.

Winry shook her head a little before screaming a little when Ed grabbed her and tilted her back. "Lets get out of here." Ed said softly.

"It'd be kind of rude to leave our guests alone, don't you think?" Winry questioned.

"Yeah, but I'm sure they'd figure out what we may be planning on doing."

A blush formed on Winry's cheeks as the mental images shot through her mind and she smiled a little bit. "Just wait, Ed. You don't want to appear to eager."

Ed pouted a little but had to agree with his new bride. Besides, if they waited until the party was over, then things would probably be a lot better. Grinning, Ed wrapped his arms around Winry's waist and spun her around.

After a few hours the guests began leaving until Ed and Winry were alone. "I'll give you to the count of five to run." Ed remarked with a feral grin.

Laughing, Winry ran with Ed in hot pursuit. This was one night neither of them were going to forget in a long time.

lostmoonchild: Okay, I was feeling kind of evil and decided to throw in the slamming on the brakes suddenly. Unfortunately, the next chapter is the last and I will warn you all, I didn't want the story to end that way but unfortunately it was needed. Read and review, flames accepted.


	14. Chapter 13

lostmoonchild: Okay, here's the final chapter and I'd like to thank everybody for taking the time to read the story and for leaving a review if you left one. Don't expect the ending to be happy, I beg of you. I promise that I have plenty of stories that have good endings in my mind, I just wanted this ending to be... well, you'll find out. I don't own FMA or anything else unless I say otherwise so don't sue.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The sounds of somebody throwing up could easily be heard over the storm raging outside. Ross felt his heart breaking as he watched his severely malnourished sister throw up what little food she had been able to eat and tried offering her some amount of comfort through his own tears.

Rose knew she was dying and knew perfectly well that her twin brother knew that she was dying. "Automail junkie." Rose whispered her eyes starting to grow heavy.

"Alchemy slut." Ross whispered holding his sister tightly against him.

A smile spread across Rose's face as she wrapped her thin fingers around her brother's arms. "It doesn't hurt no more, brother dearest." Rose murmured closing her eyes. "I see mother and father. They're smiling. Mother is wearing her favorite sundress, the one we buried her in. Father is in his military uniform, I can see the metals shining in some light."

"Stay here." Ross whispered a tear rolling down his tanned face.

"I'm going to say hi and hug them one time. I'll be back." Rose murmured, her words growling slurred. "Loveyoumonkeybutt (love you, monkey butt)."

Ross held onto his sister's now lifeless body and shouted his anger and sadness. Out in the living room, the kids cried knowing their beloved sister was gone, never to come back and tell them to stop being such big babies.

The sky was gray and cloudy two days later as a small group surrounded a casket, watching as it was lowered into the ground. Everybody who knew Rose personally was crying for the teenage girl who would no longer get to feel the wind or to see another winter.

A bouquet of roses was put on Rose's chest before the casket was closed for good. There the roses would stay, for all eternity with the girl named for them. Resting on the corpse of the interesting young woman who had been taken away by one of the military's enemies.

"What are you going to do now?" Al asked, his eyes showing confusion.

Ross paused and looked at his brothers and sisters. "I'm taking them home. To our true home." Ross said a tear rolling down his face. "We'll pick up the pieces and try to live without the military bothering us."

Ed put his arm around Winry's waist and said, "listen, bud, if you need help or anything just let us know."

Ross nodded and said, "Take care of my sister's grave. We might come around on her birthday."

Ed nodded a little and said extending his hand, "I'll tell the military to leave you guys alone and the next time they have suspicions about your father, to remember what happened to Rose."

Ross smiled a bit and shook Ed's hand. "Thanks. Sister would be grateful that she'd be able to rest in peace."

"_Brother.."_

Ross spun around and looked shocked when he saw a ghostly figure of his sister smiling at them. "Holy shit…" Ed whispered.

"_Edward, don't swear near my brothers and sisters." _Rose's ghost said with a smile.

"ROSE!" The children shouted looking happy. "YOU CAME BACK!"

"_Sorry, kids. I can't stay long."_ Rose's ghost said looking sorry. _"Don't hold onto your anger and sadness that came along with my death. This time it wasn't the military's fault."_

"It wasn't the military's fault in the first place."

"_The military knew Father was at risk for being attacked and did nothing to offer protection to him."_ Rose's ghost murmured walking towards them. _"Brothers and sisters, mother and father say that they love you and we'll all be watching over you. Elrics, you all have somebody watching over you. Your mother, Ed and Al, loves you very much. Winry, I haven't seen anybody yet that wants me to give you a message but I'll let you know if I find anybody."_

They smiled tat the ghost and watched as she looked behind her. "Sister, don't go." Ross said.

"_I don't belong here anymore, brother dearest, you know that. I got to go now. Love you, automail ass wipe."_ Rose said unable to keep from laughing as she faded away.

Ross smiled and took a deep breath before shouting as loud as he could, "ALCHEMIST FREAK!"

The sun finally appeared and the group of children along with their older brother waved goodbye as they started walking. Everybody smiled as the wind blew and whipped their hair around almost as if it was Rose playing with their hair. They knew then, that things would be almost like they were before.

Almost being the keyword.

lostmoonchild: -crying- It's over! -stops crying- Okay, I'm better now. Chances are all of you were hoping for a happy ending probably them finding a cure before Rose died but I didn't want that to happen. Unfortunately the ending for the story was predetermined by a coin, heads Rose living and tails...well, you all can guess which side won. So anyway, I decided that I MIGHT put in a sequal telling what happened afterwards with Ross and his remaining siblings but I can't figure out if he should join the military or not so if anybody reads this, leave a vote if he should or not. Anyway, read and review, flames are accepted.


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